Delaware lawmakers eye lower DUI threshold

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Delaware lawmakers have introduced a bill to lower the legal blood-alcohol threshold for drunken driving from the currently recognized national standard of .08 percent.

Under the legislation, the legal blood-alcohol threshold in Delaware would drop to .05 percent.

The proposal has yet to be heard in committee but already has come under fire from the alcoholic beverage industry.

The American Beverage Institute said Monday that the proposal is well-intentioned but misguided. It said the bill will have a negligible impact on drunken-driving deaths while criminalizing moderate and responsible drinking.

While .08 is the threshold at which a person is legally deemed to be drunk, a person with any amount of alcohol can be charged with DUI if police believe the person to be impaired and a threat to others.